Candy Floss
by cloverlover
Summary: The percentage of the Muggle population who know about magic is continually growing, and the strain on the International Statute of Secrecy has become more severe. To prepare the wizarding world for inevitable future challenges, there is only one option – to familiarize wizards with all things Muggle. Which is exactly what Hermione Granger does, starting with cotton candy...
1. Candy Floss

Candy Floss

"What kind of Dark Magic is this?"

He stared at the mass of what looked like sunset-coloured clouds on a paper stick. He poked it with a cautious finger, it was fluffy and soft to the touch, and his finger left a small indent in the mass of pink. He sniffed it suspiciously. It smelled surprisingly sweet, like sugar or honey or caramel fudge. "It's food," said Hermione simply. "You're supposed to eat it." Ron stared at her in disbelief. "How?"

"Like this." She took the fuzzy ball of pink from him and tore a piece of it off. Her eyes met his, and he gave her a wary glance as she put it into her mouth. Hermione smiled at him as she sucked her fingers clean, her tongue darting out teasingly as she did. "Your turn."

Ron looked at her and reached out a hand. He picked off a tiny wisp of the cloud. "You have to take more than that to taste it properly," Hermione demanded. Ron gave her a look, but decided to take more, ripping a larger shred off the soft mass. She smiled at him encouragingly, and he put it into his mouth.

His eyes widened. It had disappeared! All that was left was a sweet layer of sugar coating his tongue. "Where did it go?"

Hermione giggled. "It's a Muggle sweet called candy floss." She reached for some more and copied him. "It melts in your mouth. It's basically spun sugar."

Ron looked dubious. "Those cheating Muggles," he said. "All they did was blow up a bit of sugar for profit." But despite what he had just said, he took a large chunk off the rapidly shrinking ball of fluff and shoved it into his mouth. "Tastes good though," he mumbled through a thick coating of sugar over his teeth.

Before he knew it, he had finished half of the candy floss. It was addictive, though it didn't do much to fill his stomach. Hermione watched him with a small smile, taking some candy floss for herself now and then, but mainly enjoying the sensation of watching an adult try candy floss for the first time.

It wasn't long before the only thing left was the paper stick. It was covered in a little sugar, which Ron promptly offered to Hermione for her to lick off. She accepted the gracious offer and did so, proceeding to throw the paper stick in a bin they passed on the street. Then she kissed him softly, using her tongue to lick off the remaining sugar on his teeth as he did the same to her. They smiled despite themselves as they broke apart and looked at each other.

Ron struggled for something to say, as he always did after they kissed. All that came out of his mouth, however, was a hopeful, "Can we have another one?"

**Author's Note:**

**This is one of my shorter fics – it just popped into my head during Chinese because I was bored out of my mind. I think it's sweet though (excuse the pun). I've been having a few things coming into my mind about Ron/Hermione – perhaps they could go ice-skating next, or go swimming at the beach **** any ideas for what other Muggle things Hermione could show Ron?**


	2. Ice-skating

Ice-Skating

His feet were unsteady, his knees shaking as he tried to balance. Hermione held his hands and guided him forwards as she watched him hobble across the ice on overtight shoes with lethally sharp blades underneath them. Ron stumbled and fell into her arms, and she managed not to totter under his weight. She looked behind her and, seeing as there was no one at her back, moved slowly backwards so Ron would step back on his feet again.

"You just have to get used to it," she said reassuringly, stifling a laugh. Ron's entire body was shaking so much his hat looked on the verge of falling off. His hat, a woolen mass of robin egg's blue, slid over his eyes of an almost identical shade, and Ron looked upwards annoyingly, as if he very much wanted to adjust it, but didn't dare to do so for fear of falling over again. Seeing his desperate expression, Hermione laughed and reached up to move it back in place.

Hermione gripped his hands tightly and led him across the ice. "You're very quiet, aren't you?" she said, watching him. She smiled as Ron gave a tight nod. His lips were pressed tightly together, and he was staring at his feet, warily taking step after step, starting when his feet slid over the ice. He was concentrating so much, he didn't have the energy to talk to her at all. Hermione laughed. "Come to the middle with me," she said, leading him to the centre of the rink. The other people who were gliding on the ice around them stared at the odd-looking couple, pointing and laughing a little as Ron stumbled with every step he took, but the two of them didn't look back.

At last they reached the midpoint of the rink. The other skaters circled around them in loops, twirling and skipping on the ice like it was the most natural thing in the world. Ron felt as if everyone was showing off just because he was a beginner. At least he had Hermione to guide him, he thought, so he didn't feel quite as mortified. Just then, Hermione grinned mischievously and suddenly let go of him, promptly skating off.

"HEY!"

Hermione merely turned and began skating gracefully backwards, mockingly so, grinning at him. Her hair flew out from behind her, messy and untamed, just the way he liked it. "Come on, you can do it!" she called. "Follow me!" She orbited him and skated round the rink, laughing with glee as she watched him hopelessly struggling to move forward. He let out a yell of frustration and lifted his foot just a fraction. He tottered, and waved his arms wildly as he tried not to fall, but arms flailing, Ron lost his balance and fell over face-down. Hermione was still skating, so he had to resort to an embarrassingly self-degrading baby crawl towards her. Hermione decided to take pity on him and skated back to him.

He let out a groan as she pulled him up with surprising strength. "Get up, you useless lump," she said, laughing. Ron shivered. "I'm freezing," he complained. "My mittens are _soaked._"

"Stop whining," said Hermione bossily. "I fell over a hundred more times than you did when _I_ first learnt how to skate."


	3. The Underground

The Underground

"Where do I put this?"

Ron was stuck at the revolving ticket machine, trying to find the slot to put the ticket through. When he failed to do so, he pushed the metal bar blocking him from getting to the other side. He growled and attempted to crawl underneath it, but it was rather difficult considering his tall build.

"Stop!" said Hermione, pulling the back of his shirt to restrain him. "The slot's here, just put it through." Ron crawled back, blushing furiously as he tried to ignore the other people who were, once again, staring at them. He put the ticket through the machine, but got it the wrong way round. He flipped it and tried again. He jumped in surprise as the ticket slid in of its own accord. "How did it do that?" he said. Hermione shrugged and smiled.

Hermione led him to a platform where they waited for the train. "This is just like the Hogwarts Express," she explained. "It's nothing exciting, really."

The train arrived, screeching to a stop, causing both of them to put their hands over their ears and wince in pain. They boarded the train, Ron almost falling into the gap between the train and the platform ("Mind the gap, Ron, read the signs…") and sat down inside. The train jerked slightly, then began to move forwards.

They sat and twiddled their thumbs for the next twenty minutes, making idle conversation now and then. It was hot and stuffy inside, as it was summer and there was no air-conditioning. Ron got up to throw a piece of tissue he had used to wipe his face in a nearby bin, but just then the train stopped again and he promptly fell over on his side. A cool female voice announced their destination. Mumbling incoherently as the other people on the train stood up to glare at him, he got up, rubbing his shoulder, and got off the train with Hermione following behind him, shaking her head.

As the made their way towards the exit, they passed a large transparent box which contained rows upon rows of snacks. Stopping to ask what it was, Hermione explained that it was a vending machine as well as how it worked. "Sounds good," said Ron. He fished out his money pouch and took out a handful of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Hermione groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Not from round here, are yer?" said a woman who passed them with an amused expression on her slightly wrinkled face. "Never seen coins tha' big." Ron flushed again and rummaged through his bag again, while Hermione gave the woman an apologetic glance. They paid the money for a chocolate bar, or rather Hermione did, after Ron made a huge fuss of the different coins and notes ("I wish there weren't so bloody many different ones, I can't tell which one's which!").

They nibbled at the chocolate, passing the bar between them as each of them took a bite in turns. Hermione took him by the hand and let him out of an exit.

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows! I'm running out of ideas for what else they can do, so if you have anything could you review and tell me? I've got things like using a cell phone and boarding an airplane. I'd appreciate your help, thanks a lot!**


	4. Cinema

The Cinema

Hermione seemed to have a pretty clear idea of where she was going, pulling Ron along and telling him to hurry up and stop looking at the signs around them. "Where are we going, anyway?" he asked her. She looked back at him. "The cinema," she replied simply. "We're going to see a film I just saw last week, but I think you'll like it."

Eventually they reached a shopping centre and ascended to the top floor where the cinema was. Ron refused to use the escalators or the lift, saying that he didn't quite trust electricity just yet, so they had to use the fire escape. They reached the top, panting and puffing as Hermione went to the tuck shop to buy some popcorn and drinks, then gave their tickets to the man at the entrance and he let them in. A woman ushered them to their seats, shining a flashlight onto their tickets and raising her eyebrows at Ron's astounded expression. "Light just came out of that thing," he whispered to Hermione excitedly as they settled in the comfortable red plush seats. "I thought Muggles didn't use magic, how does it do that?"

Hermione shushed him as the screen lit up, showing various advertisements, each one lamer than the one before it. Then there was an announcement for the film-goers to switch off their mobile phones, and Hermione took hers out and put it on silent. Ron gave her a look and gestured towards the phone. She smiled at him and mouthed, "Another time, perhaps."

They remained silent throughout the entire film. Ron devoured the entire bag of popcorn barely fifteen minutes in, and finished Hermione's drink for her as well. She didn't mind very much; she had never really fancied eating during films. The action film they were seeing wasn't particularly exciting, but Ron was fascinated by the special effects. As yet another tower blew up on the screen, he nudged Hermione and said, "That must have cost tons!" An elderly couple behind them shushed loudly, and someone else threw their popcorn at him. Ron promptly shut up, and suddenly realised that Hermione was asleep.

He elbowed her again, gently, and she slumped to the side, leaning into his shoulder. He froze and remained perfectly still, afraid to wake her should he move. He continued to stare at the screen, but he wasn't taking in what was going on. He was acutely aware of Hermione's presence as she leaned against his arm, breathing softly in and out and muttering in her sleep. He shifted slightly and slowly put his arm around her, rocking slowly. He wasn't interested in the movie anymore, and it thankfully ended after a quarter of an hour. The lights went up and Ron stroked her hair. When she didn't wake up, he leaned over and kissed her fully on the lips. She hummed a little and her eyes opened. "Good morning, 'Mione," he said softly. She smiled.

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to Oriondruid for the cinema idea. If you have any other suggestions, please review below and tell me, and if you're lucky I'll write it and mention you in the AN **


	5. Piano

Piano

Ron insisted on visiting the shops after they left the cinema. Hermione led him to the escalators and watched him laugh as he watched the other people step on them like it was a most normal thing to do.

Hermione pulled him towards one. "Just step on," she said. He did as she asked, but fell over as soon as his foot landed; he had attempted to go down the Up escalator, and she giggled. "I knew you would fall for that," she said, casually stepping onto the other one and waving at him as she descended.

Ron gulped; though the Hogwarts staircases moved as well, the steps themselves did not, so this was still new to him. He cautiously touched a step with the end of his foot and instantly put his other next to it before it could drag his feet too far apart. Steadying himself and holding on tightly to the handrail, he walked downwards to Hermione. "This is _weird!_" he exclaimed, looking down over the handrail where people were walking about with shopping bags swinging by their sides below them.

They stepped off the escalator, Ron narrowly avoiding clipping his foot on the bit where the stairs disappeared into a fine crack in the ground, and Hermione led him towards the lift. Ron looked around frantically; he didn't feel very ready to try that just yet. "Can't we look around?" he pleaded. Hermione looked at him and shrugged. "All right," she said. "Take your pick."

Ron turned and saw a large store with a flashing sign above it. _Libretto Music, _it read in large golden cursive. Inside the glass doors were hundreds of instruments Ron had never seen before. He spotted a piano among them. "Hey!" he said, pointing. "Didn't you try to teach me how to play something on that thing once?"

Hermione grinned and pushed the doors open, Ron following quickly behind her, his eyes widening at everything he saw. On a stand nearby was a violin and a trumpet encased side-by-side. Guitars hung from the walls in all shapes, sizes and colours. A man in the corner of the shop was trying out a clarinet. Two girls were goggling at the sight of a multitude of woodwind instruments – silver flutes, tiny golden harmonicas and piccolos. Hermione made a beeline for the piano. "I haven't played in absolutely _ages_," she said happily, and began to play. The gentle tune of _Für Elise _filled the room. After watching her for a minute or so, Ron moved towards her and sat down beside her on the small piano bench. She budged a little to the side to accommodate him on the seat, but continued to play without rest. "Can you teach me?" said Ron to her.

Hermione's eyes twinkled and her left hand lifted off the keys to guide his right onto them. "Watch my right hand and follow me," she explained. "See, this white note here is an E, and that's a D sharp. You play them twice – " she used her pinky and her fourth finger to play five notes in rapid succession, interchanging between the two keys she had just explained, " – then you play a B with this finger, and D here, then C and G. That's the first line," she said, and strung the notes together the play the opening line of the piece. Ron followed, screwing up his face in concentration. "E," he said, looking askance at her as his finger played the key. She nodded. "D…sharp?" he said, playing the next.

After about ten minutes of multiple bouts of swearing and random banging of disjointed chords, Ron eventually got the gist of playing the first few lines of the melody with his right hand. Hermione smiled in approval. "Now you use your left hand to accompany the first," she said, guiding his other hand onto the keys. "It's easier, see, it's just three notes each time, like this…" She stretched her fingers and played an arpeggio, one after another, as Ron watched her fingers in fascination. Hermione sighed inwardly. It was going to be a _very _long day.

**Author's Note:**

**Where I come from, if you go into a music store and start playing the pianos, no one really cares unless you're deliberately trying to destroy it. Hermione and Ron spent about fifteen to twenty minutes playing piano, and in my country that's perfectly fine. I understand that in other places that may not be the case, so thanks to one or two of my reviewers for pointing that out. I do my best to make my stories somewhat 'international'.**


	6. Bowling

Bowling

They walked into a large hall with a high ceiling. On one side of the hall were a long row of rectangular holes in the wall, each mini-cave containing ten strangely shaped white bottles in triangular formation. The other side had people lining up, holding balls of various colours and sizes and rolling them along the long alleys which ran across the hall.

Ron stared. "This is a sport?" he said disbelievingly. He watched as a person rolled a particularly heavy ball forward and groan as it fell into the gutter, leaving the bottle-shaped objects untouched. Another ball crashed into the midst of the objects and knocked them down one by one. A sign flashed above it. It read _STRIKE! _in large bold letters. Ron laughed. "This is bizarre!"

Hermione pulled him over to the counter to measure his foot size. They handed a pair of shoes for him to change into, and did the same for Hermione. As soon as Ron had put them on (with difficulty, as his feet were a little larger than the biggest size they had), she waved him over. "Come on," she said, and led him to a vacant alley. Several balls were already on the side, lined up and ready for them to pick up.

"I chose this sport because it's relatively easy for starters," said Hermione. "And anyway, I'm not too good at sports."

Ron picked up the first ball ball and instantly dropped it back in line. "These are _heavy_!" he exclaimed. "How do you pick them up?" Hermione ambled over and rolled the dark green ball so three finger-sized holes were facing upwards. "You use your fingers and hook the ball like this," she explained, doing so, "and then you pick it up." Gritting her teeth, she heaved the ball upwards and used her other hand to support the weight. She carried it over to the alley, staggering a little; it had been a while since she had last played bowling. "I'm not very good at this, mind."

She swung her arm with the ball backwards, and Ron jumped out of the way in case she accidentally let go of it, but thankfully she managed to hold on. She threw it forwards and released it. The verdant sphere rolled halfway across the alley before veering off to the right and falling into the gutter. Hermione groaned in exasperation. She turned to Ron, who was trying not to smile. "You get the idea."

Ron nodded and took the next ball in line. It was a black one, and was much heavier, but due to years of Quidditch Keeper training, Ron had become accustomed to carrying heavy things. He copied Hermione's movements and walked to the alley with confident steps. He narrowed his eyes, as if he were trying to figure out the right angle to throw the ball. Hermione watched him, arms crossed over her chest as she sat in a nearby chair. Then in one quick swing, the ball had gone backwards and forwards again. The momentum threw the ball a good distance before it landed with a bang on the alley. It rolled at top speed and reached the end, proceeding to knock the pins in the centre one by one. They fell like dominoes, the last one tottering slightly before collapsing along with the others.

Ron punched the air and gave a loud _whoop_ of joy. "I did it!" he said. "I did it! At least there's one Muggle thing I'm not completely useless at!"

**Author's Note:  
I had the feeling that Ron should try a sport at some point. With Hermione being such an academic, I wouldn't expect her to be good at basketball or football, so I decided on bowling instead. If you have any other ideas for what they could do, please leave a suggestion in the review box below!**


	7. Telephone

Telephone

"Are we going to the Ministry?" Ron asked as they stepped into a red telephone booth. The door swung shut and almost hit Hermione hard on the shoulder, but missed. The two of them were squished uncomfortably in the small space there was, pressing up against each other. There was a very awkward pause.

Hermione adjusted herself so she was closest to the row of buttons with numbers on them. She took the phone in one hand and reached for her purse with the other. "No," she said simply, in answer to Ron's question. "I originally thought of bringing you to a place to buy a phone, but I can't trust you with one, and anyway you wouldn't use it much. We're calling my parents instead."

She found her purse and took it out, shaking it a little to check there were coins inside. She opened it with a flick of her fingers and it fell open with an audible _snap. _She took out a few coins and inserted them into the coin slot, then dialed a number. "This is my parents' telephone number," she explained. "Everyone has a different one so people don't get mixed up with each other. But you knew that already, I think. You called Harry once in our second year, didn't you?"

Ron nodded. "I don't think his relatives took it too well," he said guiltily. He could vaguely remember Uncle Vernon's frenzied yelling down the phone, denying that there was such a person as Harry Potter living in his home at Privet Drive. He had immediately written to Hermione, telling her not to contact Harry at all, but he thought that he shouldn't have done that in retrospect. After all, Hermione came from a Muggle family and obviously knew how to use a telephone. He could have saved Harry a lot of boredom and not to mention teenage angst.

Hermione held the phone under her chin and stuffed her closed purse back into her bag. She waited. Then she perked up as someone mumbled with a tinny voice on the other end. "Hello?" she said. Ron stared. Didn't she have to shout, what with her parents being so far away? Wasn't that the point of telephone booths being in a small space, so the noise didn't get out to other people?

"Hi, Mum," continued Hermione in a normal voice. "It's me, and Ron's here too. We're using a telephone booth because I'm teaching him how to use one. I'll let him talk to you now." Giving Ron a look, she gestured him to hold the receiver. Ron held it to his ear, but Hermione sighed and turned it the other way – he had put it to his ear upside down.

"Hello?" said Ron, raising his voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," said a croaky voice on the other end. "No need to shout, my dear, I'm not deaf."

"How can you hear me from so far away?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione laughed silently as she watched him holding the receiver awkwardly. She looked through the dusty glass case holding them inside, and saw a man impatiently tapping his foot as he waited his turn to use the telephone.

"Electricity wires," said Mrs. Granger, and Ron could almost hear her smiling, if that was possible. "Don't worry, my boy, you'll get the hang of it."

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to . .falls for the idea!**


	8. Gallery

Gallery

After Ron had handed the receiver back to Hermione, she told her mother her plans for the day. They were to travel to her house and meet up for lunch, then they would go to visit an art gallery in Muggle London when afternoon arrived. So they did.

They Apparated to the small cottage and landed perfectly outside the gate; Hermione had managed to hone her sense of exactly where to appear perfectly, so they didn't land in her parents' prized rosebushes. They had tea and cakes with her family quietly, making small talk and idle chat every now and then. Ron was too busy enjoying the food, gorging himself with various scones buttered and covered in strawberry jam.

They set off for the art gallery, walking instead of Apparating because her parents were frail and were not used to trying new things, and besides, the gallery wasn't so far away. It was a temporary one that had opened recently, and was going to stay for a month or two before moving to another country. It was a collection of famous artworks by artists who were long gone, and was open to the public for free.

Hermione's parents were great fans of art, and were wandering about on their own, murmuring at the minor details of each piece as they admired them in obvious delight. Hermione watched them meander off into a nearby corridor, making a mental note to find them later. She took Ron by the arm and linked it with hers, leading him to another corridor covered in paintings.

"Muggles get _paid _for making stuff like this?" said Ron in wonder, staring at the multitude of framed art around him. They were strangely still, painted in oil on canvas, some bright and colourful, showing flower-filled meadows and blue skies, others dark and sinister, depicting scenes of war and violence. It was, on the whole, rather fascinating, but Ron wished they would move, at least. The stillness of the pictures unnerved him. He went up to one frame where a woman stood in a valley of sunflowers. She was staring serenely into the distance, and Ron was strongly reminded of Luna Lovegood all of a sudden. He poked the canvas and stuck out his tongue in disgust as the oil came off on his fingers. "Why won't it move?" he whined, poking it again.

Hermione instantly ran over and jerked his arm away from the painting, just as he was about to touch it once more. "You're not supposed to _touch _them!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. "Look at the signs, for Merlin's sake!" She pointed at the barrier surrounding the frame. It had obviously not done its job, seeing as Ron had stepped clear past it. "They're not wizarding pictures, so they obviously don't move," said Hermione urgently. Ron blushed and pretended to look at the painting with a new intensity, as if it was a force field automatically drawing his gaze towards it.

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to dancer4813 for this idea – I especially liked the line she suggested, "Muggles get paid for making stuff like this?" If you have anything to contribute, may it be a review or another suggestion for other things Ron and Hermione could do, please do so in the review box below, and I might pick the activity and mention you in the AN! Happy reading!**


	9. Bicycle

Bicycle

"It's not that difficult, Ron. You play Quidditch, after all."

He was staring nervously at the strange contraption that lay before him. The thing had two large wheels and a handle at the front, with a thin triangular seat next to it and another, smaller metal one behind it. "What is that?" he said warily, walking around the unusually shaped object as he observed it.

"It's a bicycle."

"A bye-sick-what?"

"_Bicycle,_" repeated Hermione, sounding exasperated and annoyed at the same time. "You ride it. All you need is balance and confidence, which I'm sure you have a lot of. You've had tons of experience on a broom, this shouldn't be too hard."

"Where do I sit?" he asked, picking it up by the wheel so it was hanging upside down. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes, righting it so the two wheels stayed firmly on the ground. "You sit here," she said, pointing at the triangular leather seat. "And I'll be behind you pushing it so you don't fall on your first try." She then pointed at the handlebars. "You can hold onto that, and if you want me to stop, then ring that bell like this." She reached out and used a finger to flick a small lever on the edge of the bar, which caused a tinny ringing sound to emit from a roundish object the lever was sticking out of on the handlebars. "It's easy," she assured him. He didn't look very convinced.

Ron sat cautiously on the seat, as if he were afraid it would collapse any moment. He held onto the handlebars and steadied his breathing. He gulped. "Can we go slowly?"

Hermione only smiled in response and began to push the metal seat so they inched forward. "You'd have to go faster than that if you want to balance," she said. "And you're dragging your feet. Put them here on the pedals, so you can propel yourself forward." Ron suddenly noticed a pair of wedge-shaped things poking out from both sides of the thing, and put his feet on them. He found he could push them quite easily, one foot after another, and had soon established a steady rhythm, moving forwards faster and faster until Hermione was just keeping up behind him.

"See?" she panted, running and talking simultaneously. "Let's see how you'll manage if I do…_this._" She let go of him entirely.

He continued to move forwards, keeping his pace steady as his legs moved up and down in a circular motion. "Hey, I can do it!" he shouted in glee. He looked back at Hermione to see if she was watching, and indeed she was. He grinned at her, but just then, her eyes widened and she was shouting, "Turn right! Turn right!"

"_How?_" he yelled; he hadn't learnt how to steer just yet, Hermione had obviously not expected him to get to this stage. He turned forwards again and saw a lamppost just up ahead. "Help!" he yelled, but there was nothing he could do. He could fall off, but he wasn't sure whether he would be able to break the fall, and anyway, his feet seemed to be stuck to the pedals for all the fear he was currently experiencing. He let out a cry as the lamppost came closer.

_CRASH._

**Author's Note:**

**I haven't written an AN in a while, but I think I'll take the time to say that I've finally reached 50 reviews on this story! It's not much on the general scope of things, and tons of people have done better than me, but I don't care, because this is a great moment for me.**

**I have had several suggestions that I should write something about Hermione teaching Ron how to use a computer. Since that and the Internet is a HUGE topic, I think I'll split this into several parts. It'll come much, much later, though – I've got several chapters already written before that one.**

**I had originally thought to put the Internet stuff in another story entirely, but then I thought it sounded rather (excuse the pun) disconnected. Thanks to hpfreakofalltime16 for coming up with the idea of the computer FIRST, and keep reading and reviewing, because I appreciate every single one of you guys!**

**If you have any other ideas for what Hermione and Ron could do, please review below and state your suggestion, and I might just write it **


	10. Airplane

Airplane

"My dad had always wondered what made airplanes stay up," said Ron nervously, drumming his fingers on the armrest as he sat in an extremely uncomfortable seat which was covered in cloth that made his hair stand up with static electricity. Hermione was next to him, looking decidedly calmer with her arms folded in her lap. Now and then she would lift a hand to sip at her drink in front of her on a small portable tray.

"There isn't much to it, really," she said, smiling at him. "It's a bunch of forces working together, like lift and gravity pulling at each other, for example. It also helps that the airplane itself is streamlined." Ron pretended that he understood and nodded half-heartedly, not comprehending a word of what she had just said.

A crackling sound came from above them and Ron jumped in surprise. A cool voice announced the name of the captain, who then proceeded to introduce himself and ask them to turn off their phones (which Hermione did, without further ado) and warnings about smoking during the flight. "We'll be leaving for Venice in fifteen minutes."

Ron let out a small whimper, and Hermione looked at him. He was staring out of the window, tapping an agitated tattoo on the double-layered glass. She decided to take out a book she had brought for the flight, and proceeded to completely absorb herself into it.

After a while, the plane began to rumble. Ron gripped Hermione's arm but lessened the force when she winced, dropping the book on the floor.

The plane moved forward. The humming around them got louder. Hermione tried to console Ron a little. "We won't _crash,_" she said. "A pilot – that's the person steering the plane – has to be extremely experienced to be able to do this. It's a chance in a billion."

"It's still a chance," he said in a strangled whisper. He was more scared than he had ever been, even more than when he saw spiders, and that was saying something. He looked out of the window again, craning his neck as the green fields and trees fell behind them, leaving a long runway ahead made of bitumen, cement and asphalt. "Goodbye, London."

Then there was a loud whirring as the plane kicked into action, and it sped along the track at increasing speed. Outside, the flaps on the wings wavered and moved into takeoff formation. They began to vibrate rapidly as the plane went even faster and rose off the ground, flying higher and higher…

The closer to the heavens the got, the more Ron hyperventilated. They zoomed upwards to the clouds, and in one short burst that clouded the windows with vapour, they had shot through the clouds entirely. It was here that the plane began to steady itself after its smooth ascent, moving forward again, except high up in the air instead of on the ground. Ron hadn't noticed that his eyes were squeezed shut, and opened them again to look outside. He gasped.

It had been late afternoon when they had boarded the plane, and it was now approaching sunset. The clouds around them were tinged with pink and purple hues, looking remarkably like the Muggle sweet Hermione had let him try just a few weeks ago; what was it called, candy fleece? He looked over at Hermione, meaning to gesture towards the view so she could look too, but she was too engrossed in her book to look like she would appreciate it. He let it go and checked Hermione's watch on her wrist. They still had a little more than two hours to go.

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to Oriondruid again for this idea! I laughed as soon as I read the suggestion, it's brilliant!**


	11. Pizza

Pizza

"I love it when you let me try food."

Said food was in front of him on a large, circular plate. According to Hermione, it was one of the many delicacies of Italy, where they were currently enjoying a holiday. It was flat and round, with a crusty edge covered in sprinklings of flour, smothered with various toppings – olives, salami, tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms and meatballs. It looked extremely appetizing and not completely bizarre like the candy floss (Hermione had corrected him eventually, but not after laughing at his word 'candy fleece') they had eaten a while ago. He very much wanted to get started, but first he had to learn its name.

"What's it called again?" Ron glanced at Hermione who was next to him and nudged her. She was busy trying to fit a small card into her cell phone. Apparently, if she used that card instead of her old one, she wouldn't have to call her parents for a hefty sum. She had her tongue stuck out as she tried to fit the card in, squinting a little for better focus. Finally, the tiny object slid inside with a _click _and she looked up. "Pizza," she said. "P-I-Z-Z-A." She slid the back of her phone back onto it, covering the miniscule card protectively.

Ron nodded in understanding and looked back at the large thing that was much bigger than any of his mother's pancakes sitting in front of him, waiting to be eaten. A little steam rose off it in tantalizing wisps, beckoning him to take a bite. He licked his lips. He picked up his fork and tried to rip off a piece, but ended up getting tomato sauce all over the table. He hastily tried to clean it up with the napkin next to him, but realised the paper was much too thin to soak anything up. He took a few more napkins from a glass on the table and mopped it up, flushing a little.

Hermione put down her phone, checking that no pickpockets were nearby to steal it from her, and sighed at the sight. She took a large knife that the waiter had put on the edge of their table and cut the pizza into eight large slices. "You eat it with your hands," she explained, taking one of the smaller slices gingerly with one hand and supporting it with the other after putting down the knife. "And then…" She lifted it to her mouth and ate a large chunk of it, chewing with her mouth closed, looking at Ron all the while. He copied her. It was a little messier than her attempt, but the pizza got into his mouth eventually.

As soon as he began to taste the food, he began nodding in appreciation. "Ish good," he mumbled through a mass of tomatoes and olives. She giggled. "Swallow your food," she teased mockingly. "It's only polite." She kissed him on the cheek, then handed him a glass of water to help soften the food, and he obliged, chewing much louder than she had. Hermione took a second bite out of hers. "We'll get ice cream after this," she said in delight. "Italian ice cream is the _best_."


	12. Postcard

Postcard

"0.86 Euros, _per favore_."

Hermione fished out her purse and paid the money before making her way back to Ron, who was leaning against the wall on his side. She smiled and held up a small, flat card, which had a pretty picture of the Bridge of Sighs on one side, and a multitude of lines next to a small square in the corner on the other.

She found a table nearby and placed the card onto it, the picture face down, and took out a pen from her bag after reaching into it and rummaging around for several seconds, Ron looking on all the while. "We're writing to my parents," she said for clarification, as Ron obviously didn't know what she was up to.

"But I thought you used letters like us," said Ron.

"We do, but we also have these things – " Hermione picked the card up again and waved it in his face so his head jerked backwards in surprise, " – called _postcards. _Muggles use them when they're on holiday as a short note to their family about how things have been going so far." She put the card down again. "This is my parents' address," she explained, printing a few numbers and words onto the right side in large block letters. "You have to write it neatly so the postman can read it."

She handed the pen to him, and he took it after a surprised look at her. "Write something," she said, pointing at the small card. "Right there, on the lines, but don't write too much because there isn't enough space. I still need to put a stamp on."

Ron nodded and Hermione moved aside so he could get a better look at the postcard. He leaned forward – the table was a little too short for his height – and began to write in his slightly less legible manuscript.

_Dear Mr and Mrs. Granger,_

_I hope you're doing well. We're in Venice right now and so far it's been a blast! The flight was a bit terrifying, but other than that we've have a great time. I've already tried different food like peetza and ice cream (which is much better than what we get in London), and I'm looking forward to more!_

_See you soon_

_Ron_

"There," he said, pushing the card towards her. She read it through and made a small note with the pen. Ron looked to see what she had done – she had crossed out 'peetza' and rewritten it with the correct spelling. She had also signed her name underneath in elegant cursive. "I'll go and get a stamp now," she said, and wandered back to the counter. Ron sat on the table and waited. He tried to swing his legs, but the table was much too low. She came back two minutes later with a tiny rectangular piece of paper between her fingers. She licked it (Ron made a noise of disgust) and stuck it onto the small box on the postcard. Ron squinted to read the text on the stamp – it said "Venice, Italy" and had a small price next to it. "There."

"Don't you have to put more than that?" he asked. Hermione shook her head, looking nonplussed. "So that's enough then, just one stamp?" he said, astounded. She nodded this time, and he groaned. "My mother wrote a letter to Harry in my fourth year to invite him to the Quidditch World Cup with us," he said. "We thought we had to cover the entire envelope in stamps."

Hermione fought back a laugh, and Ron smiled involuntarily. "Now you have to mail it, right there. Just slide it through the flap and someone will pick it up tomorrow." She gestured towards a mailbox a few feet away. Ron ambled over with the postcard and slid it inside, peering through the flap to make sure it had gone through.

"Okay, let's go."


	13. Rollercoaster

Rollercoaster

After spending a week in Venice, Ron and Hermione had returned safely back to London. Ron realised that he had gotten somewhat used to planes, but it still didn't stop him from rushing off to the bathroom every fifteen minutes and banging loudly on the doors when they were occupied, shouting, "Open up, it's a bloody emergency!"

After spending a few lazy days recovering from the long flight, Hermione decided that their next course of action was to go to a theme park. Conveniently enough, a carnival had opened nearby, welcoming the approaching summer, with all the usual things like Ferris wheels, games and lots of food (the latter of which Ron was greatly interested in). Hermione and Ron spent the day wandering around the place, eating food and playing games.

It was late evening when Hermione announced, "I think you're up for a challenge."

Ron gave her a strange look (he was finishing his sixth helping of candy floss), but before he could say anything, she led him to a curious structure which looked like the Hogwarts train tracks had been lifted out of the ground and warped into curious shapes up in the sky. "Bloody hell," he said nervously, "we're not going on that, are we?"

Hermione didn't answer, but smiled mysteriously. A man at the gate let them enter, and after climbing multiple steps, they were ushered into a line of carriages in crocodile formation with other Muggles. Ron looked around; they were rather high up in the air, and the people below were like miniscule insects wandering about the colourful carnival. Hermione looked rather excited about something as she twiddled her thumbs in the front-row carriage next to him. "Any minute now," she said. Ron twitched.

Ron gave a surprised shout as they suddenly began to move. The carriage was fast, turning this way and that at shocking speed alacrity. To Ron, it was almost like Gringotts, except they weren't underground.

"This is nice!" shouted Ron into Hermione's ear over the howling wind around them. "Just you wait," she yelled back, giving him the same annoyingly sly look.

They began to climb a steep slope, and Hermione and Ron had to lean forwards slightly to prevent their heads from flopping backwards to the people behind them. "This is the best bit," Hermione said suddenly, biting her lip to suppress her grin.

The train stopped.

Ron wondered for a moment whether the ride had stopped working, until he looked down. He gave a gasp and clutched the bar which kept him in his seat.

There was another tantalizing pause before they dropped.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ron's stomach felt like it was fighting its way to escape out of his mouth. A heady euphoria was filling his head, his eyes wide as they dropped. Hermione was screaming too, but she didn't look scared at all; she grabbed his hand as the ground and the people came closer and closer in a sudden shock of clarity.

Then it was over and they were on a horizontal track once again, the transition being a perfect right angle which made Ron jerk backwards in fright. They crashed headlong into a river, which whooshed all around them as they were sprayed with large, fat droplets of water. By the time the train had stopped, everyone was soaked, but laughing. Dusk had come, and everyone stumbled out, dripping down to their socks. Ron's hair was plastered to the sides of his face. He noticed that Hermione's hair looked surprisingly neater now that water had weighed down the frizziness.

"It's five past seven!" exclaimed Hermione, brushing the water off her watch. "The fireworks have begun!" She took his hand and pulled him out of the doorway, but Ron had another idea. As colourful fireworks worthy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes exploded behind them, he pulled her back into his arms for a long, satisfying, and very wet kiss.

**Author's Note:**

**A lot of people have been requesting for a rollercoaster ride or something to do with a theme park, and I'm sorry I can't be bothered to list everyone out because there were SO MANY OF YOU! I am so grateful to every single one of you for all the critiques and praise, even if they were three words long **

**I apologise for the delay, but schoolwork is higher on my priority list than fanfiction, so to compensate this chapter is longer than most. I'll try to update on a weekly basis, though, since Easter's coming up. The thing about having so many reviews is that you've got a lot of people waiting for a new chapter which pressurizes me slightly, but I AM NOT COMPLAINING! So thank you again!**


	14. Coke

Coke

Ron gasped and choked. The liquid was fizzing all over his mouth; not expecting this effect, he had taken a larger sip than he could handle. It scalded his tongue and bubbled over his teeth, sloshing around in his mouth. He regretted it now.

He spat out what was in his mouth and coughed again, the burning sensation still scalding his tongue and reaching his nostrils. The brown, bubble-filled liquid landed on the floor with a _splat _as he attempted to wipe his watering eyes and nose_._

"_Ron,_" said Hermione, rolling her eyes and laughing. "You aren't supposed to take that much at once." She took the bottle and sipped in a very ladylike fashion, pursing her lips and smiling at him.

"I know that _now,_" said Ron guiltily. He licked the inside of his mouth with his tongue and winced a little. It burned still. "Why does it do that?"

Hermione took a larger swig and grimaced, but was able to hold it down unlike Ron. "I don't like it very much myself, so I don't blame you," she said, "but it's called a soft drink."

"What?"

"It's added to the drink to make it fizzy. Muggles enjoy it."

The two of them were still at the carnival, surrounded by a large line of people who were lining up to buy food, most of them wandering off with hot dogs and bottles of Coke. Hermione had only bought a bottle of the soft drink for the two of them to share, and had purposely not described it to Ron, wanting to see his reaction, which turned out to be just as hilarious as she had expected

"This is what you call Coke?" asked Ron, closing the bottle and shaking it. Hermione pressed her lips together to stop herself from telling Ron that one  
of the worst things you could do with a Coke bottle was to shake it while  
closed. She succeeded, and gave Ron a cryptic smile. "Take another sip, but make sure you drink less this time," she suggested. Ron obliged.

She watched as he opened the bottle again, and with a loud _whoosh, _a jet of foamy brown liquid was shooting out of the bottle and hitting him straight in the face. She laughed as he yelled in surprise.

"Hey, my shirt only dried fifteen minutes ago!" said Ron loudly, who was soaked once again. His orange Chudley Cannons shirt (which drew a lot of stares) was stained brown right in the centre. Hermione, standing a good few feet away, was untouched. Several passer-bys, who had been splattered by Ron's accidental soda attack, gave the couple dirty looks.

"Bloody teenagers," mumbled a croaky old woman who had a knobbly walking stick in one hand and a large, heavy-looking bag in the other. People around her murmured in assent.

"I'm _twenty-two, _for Merlin's sake!" yelled Ron. "Do I look that young to you?" The woman merely glared at him and hobbled off.

Hermione walked to the end of the line and waited for her turn to get another bottle. After all, she hadn't tried Coke in a long time, and anyway it wasn't that expensive. She hadn't expected Ron to finish his Coke so quickly – or rather, spill it.

"Another Coke, please."

**Author's Note:  
Several reviewers have been asking for more funny Muggle reactions, so here you go!**


	15. Driving

Driving

"Before you get any ideas," said Hermione with a warning look, "this isn't anything like the Ford Anglia your father had. It's much more complicated and Muggle cars don't fly… but I expect you knew that already."

The two of them were behind Hermione's house, where there was a small, unoccupied road they could drive on. Ron had originally suggested he get a driver's license, but Hermione insisted that he didn't need one and that Apparition was much simpler anyway. Instead, here they were in Hermione's car, which had been a gift to her from her parents after her graduation from Hogwarts. It was still rather new, since it hadn't been used very much by its owner.

"Normally, driving takes several months to learn, but I don't think I have the patience or the skill to do that," said Hermione. "I think I'll just show you how to drive in a straight line for now." She leaned over into his shoulder and pointed at his feet. "That's the accelerator, and that's the brake. You use your right foot to push down on either one of them, but never both at the same time. The harder you push on the accelerator, the faster you go, but just press lightly for now, because I don't trust you to go too fast."

She proceeded to instruct him further with the various levers and buttons in the car, and Ron was getting steadily confused as the new and unfamiliar terms swam around in his head. When Hermione was done, she handed him the car keys. "First, you turn the ignition on," she instructed. "Put the key in the lock right there, next to the wheel, and turn it clockwise until the engine ignites."

Ron did as he was told and gave a jolt in his seat as the engine came to life. The car began to vibrate, and Ron accidentally hit his head on the ceiling. He placed his hands on the steering wheel with a little more force than was necessary. A loud _honk _sounded and Ron jumped again, letting go of the wheel like it was red-hot iron.

Hermione clapped her palm to her forehead and made a noise that sounded halfway between a groan and a laugh. "That was the horn," she explained. "You only use that if you're in trouble or want other cars to get out of the way." She took his hand and placed it gently on the steering wheel. "Try again," she said, smiling. "Not too hard."

Ron bit his lip nervously and complied. He looked down and began to press his foot lightly against the accelerator, but before he could move forward, he was stopped by a loud shriek from Hermione.

"Oh _Merlin, _I almost forgot!" She opened the door and hopped out of the car, Ron watching her with surprise. She took a few steps until she was in front of the car and began to wave her wand, muttering incantations for Cushioning Charms and other protective spells. She stepped back into the car and closed the door with a _slam. _"I should have thought of that earlier," she said. "Can't risk crashing." She nodded at him. "Now go."

Ron tried again. The car began to inch forwards, little by little. "Good," muttered Hermione, and Ron thought for a moment that she actually sounded surprised. "Just don't go any faster."

It was an excruciatingly slow journey to the end of the path, and when the finally reached it ten minutes later, Hermione signaled for Ron to push on the brakes. She turned the ignition off and the couple gave a collective sigh. "You're right," said Ron, wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow, "maybe I should just stick to Apparition." He noticed that his hands were gripping the wheel so tightly, he had to make some effort to unclench them. "How do you Muggles even control this bloody thing on the road?"

**Author's Note:**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm writing a new story at the moment and will post the first chapter when I've finished. All I'm going to say is that it's centred around Severus Snape, and it's five chapters long. So if you're interested, follow me and stay tuned!**

**Oh, and as always, if you find anything interesting in your life that you think Ron and Hermione should try, please review in the box below! If I like your suggestion, it'll be put in the queue with the other stuff I've come up with. For those who have already suggested ideas, don't forget to follow the story to find out when your idea comes up!**


	16. Curry

Curry

The room was dark, except from the candles that flickered by the tables, occasionally emitting puffs of smoke that dissipated into the evening air. The air had a tangy, exotic flavour to it, unlike anything Ron had ever smelt before. There was a curious statue in the corner, of a man who had his palms together and his eyes closed, dressed in flowing robes and painted in gold. Altogether, it was a very curious place.

Hermione led him to a table and sat down, taking a menu and reading it quickly. "I've been here loads of times with my parents," she said quickly, then, "Waiter, please!"

She ordered rice, noodles, and other foods that Ron was generally accustomed to, since his mother cooked a wide variety of cuisines, but she also requested something he didn't quite catch, but it either began with a C or a K. He gave her a questioning look, but she only smiled and winked at him. "You'll like it, I promise," she said mysteriously, as the waiter walked off with the slip of paper into the kitchens.

The food came after about ten minutes, and Ron by this time was drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, giving the waiter a mild glare as he finally put down the food. Ron was familiar with most of the food, such as rice and noodles or bread, but then the waiter set down a large bowl of yellowish gloop that didn't look very appetizing. What made it worse was the fact that there were lumpy bits in it, and Ron had never liked lumpy bits in any of his food, no matter how good it tasted.

Hermione took a spoon and dipped it into the sloppy mass, dumping a large quantity of it onto her rice. "They're only _potatoes_," she said to Ron, knowing that the only reason he wasn't trying the food was because of the chunky blocks. He was still looking very skeptical. "This is called curry," she said. "Take a spoonful and try it." She snatched his spoon from his tablemat and dunked it into the bowl.

Ron fished it back out and looked at the now-yellow spoon suspiciously. It smelled good, he would give it that. And now that it was completely devoid of lumpy bits, it actually looked like it would taste rather delicious…

He shoved the entire spoon into his mouth. Hermione smiled approvingly at him, but her gaze looked as if she was waiting for something to happen. And indeed, something did. The curry tasted tangy and salty, with hints of various exotic herbs, but after a few seconds, it began to burn with a vicious ferocity. It was unlike anything he had ever tasted before, and unlike the other Muggle food he had tried before, he didn't like this very much at all.

Ron had never been particularly accustomed to the ways of etiquette, but he knew enough to know that he wasn't supposed to spit out food he didn't like. His eyes watered as he attempted to swallow the mouthful of curry, but it was too much. But the spiciness was too overwhelming, and he had the distinct impression that if he didn't remove the curry from his tongue some way or another, he was going to explode. So he held his breath and swallowed it with a gulp, shivering as the food went down into his stomach, leaving a burning sensation all the way down.

Hermione was trying and failing to stifle her laugh as Ron blinked back tears. He opened his mouth and gasped.

"WATER!"

**Author's Note:**

**Stay tuned for next week… it's going to be about something that people have been requesting for so long I felt as if I just had to write it.**


	17. Introduction To Computers

Introduction to Computers

"This," said Hermione proudly, "is one of the Muggle world's greatest inventions."

The invention she was speaking of looked rather unremarkable. It resembled a book, but without its pages. One side was covered with curious-looking buttons arranged in rows, some larger than others on the edges. On the other side was a bright screen. It was lustrous and shiny on the outside as well, and a small roundish object was connected to it by a thin, winding cord. On the whole, Ron couldn't fathom how this was supposed to be so amazing.

"This is my laptop," said Hermione, sitting down at the table where the thing was placed. She took the roundish thing and began to move it about, clicking occasionally. Ron came closer and noticed that a small arrow was racing about the screen. After some close and careful observation, he realised that the roundish object was _controlling _the arrow's actions. Was the thing a wand in disguise, Imperiusing the arrow to do its bidding?

"The mouse," said Hermione, "controls the cursor so you can open things on the screen." Ron looked at the 'mouse' and decided it did not look anything like Scabbers at all. "I could go on the Internet, for example."

"What's that?" said Ron automatically. He had heard the word 'internet' several times before, but had never grasped the meaning of it. Harry had tried to explain to him once, but the idea was too confusing, too broad a subject to discuss, and anyway, Harry had never been a very good teacher about the Muggle world, unlike Hermione.

"It's like a global network," said Hermione. "It contains loads of information about anything you want. When I was little, if I ever needed to find out about anything, I only had to search it up and it would give me what I needed in minutes. Sometimes I go shopping online, too." Ron had to agree that it sounded brilliant. If they had the Internet at Hogwarts, he would have been able to finish his homework essays in much less time.

"You can do anything, basically," said Hermione, getting more excited by the minute. "Mostly I use Facebook sometimes to connect with people I know in real life. Look!" Her hands flew over the buttons, and as Ron watched, a window came up onto the screen, showing a bizarre collection of words, photos and faces. There was a blue bar across the top with the word "facebook" on the left and Hermione's name on the right with a tiny photo of her grinning face next to it. As for the rest…Ron didn't know where to look, it was too much all at once.

Hermione continued to ramble on. "For example, if someone I knew had an account, I would be able to connect with them and talk to them on the Internet," she said. "It's completely free." She clicked on her name on the top right corner, and the words immediately rearranged themselves to form another page. It was fascinating to watch.

"I could go on forever," said Hermione, "but I think I'll start small like I have always done." She smiled at him as her hand went to the mouse again, clicking a small red X he hadn't noticed before. The page abruptly vanished. "Let's start by showing you how to type."

**Author's Note:  
I've had people requesting since **_**forever **_**that I did a chapter about the computer, but there are so many things you can do with it, too many to fit into 600 words. Instead, I've got about 7 chapters (including this one) lined up with the many wonders of the Internet and more. If you have any suggestions for more chapters about the computer, or any other suggestions in general, feel free to drop me a review in the box below!**


	18. Typing

Typing

Hermione pulled up another chair for Ron to sit next to her at her computer. Looking back at the screen, she gasped suddenly. "Oh no, where's my charger?"

Nonplussed, Ron watched as she reached under the table and emerged with another cord, connecting it to a small indentation in the side which he hadn't noticed before. The screen flashed for a moment, then brightened. A miniscule lightning bolt had now appeared on the top right corner of the screen, bearing a shocking resemblance to Harry's scar.

"My computer runs on electricity," explained Hermione. "But after a while it runs out of power, so I have to charge its batteries again."

Ron tried to act like he had understood.

Hermione opened a window and typed a website into it. The page loaded quickly, filled with colourful images and words. She clicked on one titled "For Beginners". A list appeared, but the words were underlined and in purple. Ron observed in fascination how the little arrow on the screen would change momentarily to a finger when Hermione placed it over the words and clicked.

"We'll start with these letters – " she pointed towards the middle row of the keyboard; Ron read A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L and a semicolon. "See? Just put your thumbs on the spacebar here, and the others on the rest of the keys." Ron placed them on the keyboard as instructed, but pressed too hard – the long rectangular bar under his thumb sank downwards and he jumped, as if the computer had given him an electric shock. Hermione laughed. "You'll have to be pressing down anyway, later on."

She took the mouse and pressed a large button that said "Start". The words dissolved and new ones appeared, a series of words that made no sense together, like 'salad', 'alfalfa', 'flag' and 'fall'. "Your objective is to type these words," she said simply. "With practice you'll get used to the idea of which key to press, and the spacebar is for when you put a space between words."

They got to work. Hermione had to suppress her laughs and groans multiple times when Ron pressed the wrong key. It seemed to be difficult for him to remember the use of the space bar, which caused much confusion when he wanted to type the next word. He quickly discovered that his fingers were not very dexterous, and as they fumbled around clumsily for the right button, the computer beeped loudly every time he accidentally pressed the wrong key. Gradually, though, he got better.

About an hour of restless typing later, he had mastered his left hand and most of his right, save for the perpetual mix-up between which key was L and which was the semicolon. He moved on to the next exercise which taught him the keys he was able to press with his left hand, then the right, then the neat row of numbers positioned across the top ("At least they're not jumbled up like the letters are!" said Ron in delight, after mastering the exercise with surprising ease). After a while, his eyes were watering with the strain of staring at a bright screen from the same distance, and Hermione decided it was the optimum time to take a break. "You've done a lot better than I thought you would," she said in a congratulatory tone. Ron tried to look as modest as he could while blushing furiously. "You'll see what exciting things I've got in store for you tomorrow!"

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys, in case you haven't seen my profile I currently have exams going on. I can't be sure when I'll be back, but I promise that I haven't ditched this story, not when I still have about 15 complete chapters to put up and many more to write. I love Harry Potter too much to stop writing.**

**After this chapter (and perhaps another one for my other ongoing story, Into The Light), I won't be back for a while. Please bear with me, but I'm sure we all have lives we have to get back to and other people to follow. We're only human, after all :) so for now, farewell.**

**Obviously, I can't stop you from reviewing, and I can't think of a reason why I would! So please drop me your thoughts in the box below. I'd love to hear what you thought, good or bad, to motivate me to get through my exams and get back to fanfiction :)**


	19. Google

Google

"Today will be much easier," said Hermione as Ron sat down beside her at the computer. "This is one of my favourite websites." She opened a window on her computer and typed in the address. A very simple page loaded, blank and white save for the one colourful word in the centre, 'Google'. There was a rectangular box below it and another, smaller, lower down, with the word 'Search'.

"Goggle?" he misread. "I thought you didn't like swimming!"

"I don't," said Hermione with a toss of her hair, which was more bushy than usual today. "And it's _Google_, make the 'ooh' nice and long."

"This is like Wingardium Leviosa all over again," said Ron, rolling his eyes. He wished for a moment that his first-year self could see the two of them now. At the time, he never would have dreamed that he would love the most obnoxiously annoying person he had ever had the fortune (or misfortune) to meet. But go figure – things changed.

"Oh, I remember that _so _well," said Hermione with a grin. "You're saying it wrong," she continued in a high, bossily girlish voice. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

Ron chuckled and kissed her. "Really, Hermione, you're amazing," he said. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me." She blushed and tousled his hair the way he liked it, starting from the fringe upwards in an arc to the back of his head, then kissed him back.

"Anyway," she said, after a while, "Google is a search engine, which means if you want any information about anything you like, you can look it up."

"Even Quidditch?" asked Ron automatically.

"I don't know about that, but due to the Statute of Secrecy, I'm ninety-percent sure they don't," said Hermione with an amused expression on her face, as if she knew he was going to ask all along. "Oh, and 'percent' is a maths term," she added, as Ron gave her a confused look. "Maybe I'll show you one day."

She gestured for him to type into the search box and he obliged. When he was done, Hermione showed him the 'enter' button which was just two buttons away from the semicolon. As soon as he nudged it with his right pinkie, the page loaded almost instantly with pages of results. Ron noticed a 'Harry Potter Wiki' result, a 'Harry Potter Lexicon', and multiple websites with similar titles, all about Quidditch. "This is _bizarre_!" he exclaimed in delight.

"They've got tons of stuff about everything," said Hermione. "Look, you can Google any name, and any website with that name on it just pops up. Ooh, look!" she exclaimed suddenly. "This one's got my name on!" She pointed towards the screen, taking care not to let her finger actually touch it for fear of dirtying it. Apart from typing, Hermione had also explained the basic rules of how to use a computer, and not touching the screen was one of them.

For the next few minutes, they opened multiple websites and read the contents, Ron gasping every so often at the various designs of the pages. After a while, they got back to the original Google site, but this time Ron noticed something else – a black bar that filled the top of the screen with little words and buttons on them. What interested him the most, though, was a word he had never seen before in his life, 'Gmail'.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"Ah," said Hermione, obviously pleased. "I was hoping we would come to that."

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to soccerisawesome19 for suggesting the idea that Ron misreads Google as 'Goggle'!**

**Exams are over! For me, for now. And I'm moving house, too. Lots of changes, but change is good. Good luck to those who still have exams, and for those who don't (or you do, but are procrastinating), maybe you could use a little time to comment on what you think. No pressure, guys – that's the most important thing.**


	20. Email

Email

"This is how Muggles communicate nowadays," said Hermione. "It's faster than sending a letter, faster than owl post, and pretty much any other communication method you can think of. It's called email, but Google calls it Gmail because it's, well, Google."

"How do you use it?"

"I'm getting to that. First I'll make you an account. It doesn't cost anything, and it'll be much easier to explain once we get started." Ron waited for about five minutes while he watched Hermione do all the work. She put his name and details onto a page with multiple boxes for her to fill in, and picked a suitable username for him to remember. She pressed a button and, just like magic, the page loaded.

"This is your new email account," she said proudly. "This is your inbox, it's the place where you receive messages. You can also write messages to other people with that button – " the cursor momentarily paused over a rectangle with the words 'Compose Mail', " – and you can also categorise your things to keep them organized. It's brilliant, and the messages are sent instantly. I check my email every day, so I know if my friends have sent me anything."

She clicked on the aforementioned button to write an email, and began to explain once again. "The top box here is for you to write the email of the person you'll be sending this to, but that person needs to have an account as well for this to work. You can put a subject for the email so the person knows what the email's about before opening it. Then you can write the message below. You can also attach photos, videos, audio files, music…" then she saw the look on Ron's face and said hastily, "…but we'll be doing that much, much later. For now, you can experiment by sending an email to – um, Harry."

"Harry has an email account?" asked Ron, surprised.

"Of course he does," said Hermione. "Most people in the Ministry do, especially the Aurors. It's less conspicuous than sending things by owl, after all." She typed Harry's email address at the top and clicked the message box. A short black line flashed where she had just clicked. "What's that?" said Ron. "Oh, that's just to show where you're up to in the message," said Hermione. Ron experimented by typing a few letters. Sure enough, the little black line moved to the right as he did so. Satisfied, he began to type.

_Dear Harry,_

_Hey, it's Ron. Hermione made this Gmail account for me just now – I'm not sure if you know this already, but she's been teaching me about all things Muggle recently. I learnt how to type just a few days ago, and it's very slow since I keep making mistakes, but she says I'll get better the more I do it. At least she's not making me type out entire books for practice. She says she used to do that when she was younger, partly because it was good training for her fingers, and also because it was an effective way for her to remember things. Mental, that girl._

_I'll be seeing you Sunday as usual at the Burrow. Haven't got much to say otherwise. Send my love to Ginny. Does she have an email too?_

_Ron_

"Do you have a piece of string?" asked Ron suddenly, as soon as he was done typing. Hermione gave him a strange look, but opened a drawer and took out a piece of string. After she had handed it to him, Ron immediately began to whistle. Ariel, their owl, flew into the room and landed on the table. Ron proceeded to tie Hermione's laptop to the owl's leg.

"No, Ron, _stop!_"

**Author's Note:**

**Congratulations to DGMSilverAirHead03 for guessing that this was the next chapter!**


	21. Video

Video

"They're wizard pictures, Hermione!"

"No they aren't, they're just videos."

The two of them were currently on a site called YouTube. After laughing at the name for several minutes, as it made completely no sense to him at all, Ron settled down for Hermione's explanation. "YouTube's a site for people to put up videos of themselves," said Hermione. "Video comes from the Latin word meaning 'I see', which is pretty self-explanatory, but I don't need to go into that, I think. And just like Google, you can search for anything you want and it will come up, unless it happens to be a really obscure, esoteric thing no one really knows about."

"So, for example, if I searched for something like, oh, I don't know, music." Hermione typed 'the Beatles' into the search bar and pressed 'enter'. Clicking on the first link on the page, they were immediately transported to a large screen of four men with loud voices and bad hair. They were singing and dancing on a stage as they played their music in front of a very large cheering crowd.

"Merlin, they're _awful_," Ron said loudly, covering his ears. Hermione gave him a very offended look. "They were my parents' favourite band in their day," she said with a somewhat defiant air. Ron took this as a good moment to shut up and watch the video.

"You can pause it here, see?" Hermione moved the cursor over the moving picture and a little bar suddenly appeared. She clicked a button which looked like two solid lines very close together, and in an instant, the music halted. Ron stared. "Did you just put a Freezing Charm on it?" he asked. Hermione shook her head and smiled. "Then – why – " he pointed a half-shaking finger at the screen, "why aren't they moving?"

"You can stop it just like that," said Hermione, snapping her fingers for emphasis. "And play it again." She clicked the same button, which had changed to look like a lopsided triangle, and the video resumed. Ron gaped at it, then at her. "Wish we could do that with Sirius' mum's portrait," he said. "Click a button and – " he made a gesture with both hands in the air to suggest complete silence.

"How about we try taking one of ourselves?" Hermione said suddenly, brightening. She opened another window, and in an instant, Ron could see the two of them in the screen of the computer. He raised his left hand. Computer-Ron mirrored him. He made a face. Computer-Ron made a face back.

"I'll start recording," said Hermione, and pressed a button on the screen that looked like a round circle in red. There was a faint _ding. _"Hello," said Hermione. "It's – " she looked up at the calendar, " – the 26th of August, and Ron's making his very first video."

"You make it sound like I'm a whiney three-year-old," grumbled Ron. Hermione ignored him. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Shush," said Hermione, putting a finger to her lips. "We're being caught on camera!"

"_What?"_

"Never mind," she answered, and clicked the button again. There was another _ding, _and the video automatically played back.

"Hello," said the Hermione on-screen. "It's – " pause – "the 26th of August – "

"These are just like wizard pictures with sound!" said Ron. _"Wicked!"_


	22. Pacman

Pacman

Hermione took him to yet another site. After clicking around for a bit, they reached one Ron found very interesting. This one looked like a maze covered in dots. Four ghost-shaped blips with eyes wandered about the maze, while a small yellow circle with something that looked like a mouth tried to get away from them. After a few seconds, Ron realised that the yellow circle was being controlled by Hermione, who was pressing frantically at the arrow keys. "I haven't played in so long," she muttered to herself. "Concentrate… I have to concentrate…"

The yellow circle came upon a larger dot, which Ron assumed was an extra-large piece of computer food, and once it had 'eaten' it, the ghosts turned blue and meandered aimlessly about in the maze. Hermione quickly made the yellow circle race towards them, whereupon they were consumed one after the other. Hermione ate the rest of the pellets and something that looked strangely like a cherry, which somehow gained her a hundred points. In a few minutes, the game was over. She had won.

"What was that?" asked Ron curiously.

"It's a game called Pacman," explained Hermione. "The goal of the game is to eat all the pellets and destroy the ghost enemies, if you can. The cherry gets you extra points."

So they were ghosts, and the little blip was a cherry. "Why is it worth a hundred points?"

"Beats me," answered Hermione. "Ask the Japanese, they invented this game."

"Is that the only thing you can play on a computer?"

"Heck, no," said Hermione, smiling. "I would show you the other five billion games they have on here, but then I wouldn't want you sitting in front of it all day and ruining your eyesight." She turned the laptop towards him before Ron could ask any more questions. "Here, you try. It's easy, just use the arrow keys."

Ron placed his tongue between his teeth in concentration and pressed play. As soon as the game started, he made a beeline for the power pellet. The ghosts turned blue as he had expected. However, he had a little trouble controlling Pacman, who wandered about for a few precious seconds before making its way towards the ghosts.

Unfortunately, the ghosts turned back again before Pacman had reached them, and they turned around to eat Pacman. Ron gave an involuntary shout as Pacman dwindled to a single circular dot, until it regenerated. "No, I've lost!" he exclaimed.

"No, you haven't yet, you still have two lives," said Hermione. Before Ron could even ask what a 'life' was, the screen was showing the word 'READY' in large capitals. "Go, go, go!" said Hermione frantically.

He played better after that. The cherry was found and eaten quite quickly, but then one of the ghost blips cornered him and ate him, causing him to lose yet another 'life'. "Eat the other pellet!" said Hermione as Ron proceeded to his last life. He ate it, ingested the remaining enemy and won the game.

**Author's Note:**

**Hello people! I haven't posted in more than a month because I was at summer school, and apart from the fact that I had an extremely packed schedule, there was also no computer access. So I apologise, albeit belatedly. I'm up and running again though, so you can expect more chapters for this story in the coming weeks!**


	23. eBay

eBay

A few hours ago, Hermione had left the house to do some much-needed clothes shopping. Ron was home alone, and he was also bored out of his mind. He amused himself for the first hour with a piece of string that had come loose on his old T-shirt, but the novelty soon wore off and he was left with nothing to do.

An idea came to him, and he walked upstairs, reaching the study room where Hermione's computer sat. He opened it slowly, careful not to scratch it. He knew how to operate it from hours of watching Hermione, and in a few minutes he had managed to open up an Internet window. Staring at the screen, he noticed a toolbar just below the address. A small button intrigued him – a small blue icon with the word 'eBay' beside it. He clicked and was transported to a new website.

His mouth fell open. The screen was filled with countless items with their prices underneath, page after page after page. He found the search bar and typed 'clothes', and the site loaded quickly, showing a vast array of beautifully designed merchandise. He clicked on each one and marveled at the sight, loving how he could cursor over the pictures and zoom to see them up close.

_I could get something for Hermione, _he thought suddenly, remembering her birthday was due in two weeks. _But what?_

_A necklace. _Hermione didn't have much jewellery apart from the ones her mother left her, and Ron knew from the book he had read on how to charm witches that girls liked shiny, expensive things. With a bit of luck, he would be able to find a piece of jewellery that wasn't too expensive. He searched 'necklace' and was presented with a variety of them in different colours, shapes and sizes. One in particular caught his eye – a red pendant on a sparkling gold chain, which glittered even in the still photo. It was very Gryffindor-esque on the whole; the perfect gift for Hermione. It wasn't very expensive either; Ron suspected the gem was fake, but he didn't think Hermione would mind.

He clicked a button which read "Add to Cart". Nothing happened. He clicked it again and again. After several tries he was ready to give up, until he noticed a checkout button in the corner of the page. He clicked on it. He expected payment of some sort, but there was none. Just then, he heard the click in the lock that meant Hermione was coming home. He closed the window quickly and walked downstairs, doing his best to pretend that nothing had happened.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A week later, a postman arrived on the doorstep with a package. Luckily, Ron was there to receive it. The box was much larger than he had expected, and was very heavy as well. Perhaps Hermione had already bought some things before him, he reasoned.

He opened the box and its contents spilled out. His eyes widened. On the table was not one, not two, but sixteen necklaces. He paled slightly. There was a receipt tucked in the side, and it appeared to be very, very long. He picked it up, inwardly bracing himself. He saw the price, and his hands began to shake. So that was why the button hadn't appeared to work – he had clicked it sixteen times. And the reason why he hadn't needed to pay was because Hermione had done it so many times, the computer had automatically registered the payment under _her _credit card. Ron was screwed.

"So it finally came, did it?" said a voice. Ron turned. Hermione stood at the bottom of the staircase, one hand on her hip, head cocked slightly. Ron made a futile attempt to hide the necklaces on the table. Hermione smiled and approached him before he could think of a good excuse for his situation, picking up one of the necklaces and holding the pendant between her thumb and forefinger. "Nice choice," she murmured. "We'll just refund the rest."

"There's a _refund_?" said Ron weakly.

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Oriondruid for this hilarious and brilliant idea!**


	24. Dentist

Dentist

"Have your folks ever told you that your teeth are kind of yellowish?"

Ron instinctively put a hand to his mouth and looked at Hermione, who was peering at his teeth in interest. "No," he said warily. "Why?"

"My parents would be able to fix that in an instant," said Hermione conversationally. "I could make an appointment with them, if you like."

"Um, no thanks?" Ron liked Hermione's parents very much, but he didn't fancy the idea of them prodding about in his mouth, even though they were professional dentists.

"Come on, Ron," she wheedled, giving him a pleading look (which he almost fell for, but not quite). "It won't hurt, and my parents will be extra careful with you, I promise." Ron could tell she wasn't going to let up unless he agreed. He gave a halfhearted nod and she beamed. "Great! I'll call them right now, I'll only be a minute."

Half an hour later, they had Apparated to Hermione's parents' home. Ron remembered it very fondly, but the purpose of their visit this time round sickened him just a little bit. After the usual warm welcome and a cup of tea, he was taken to an upstairs room. The place looked very clean to the point where he was almost blinded by the white-washed walls. He gulped. There was a reclining chair in the centre of the room with an odd lamp fixed over it. He gingerly sat down. "Lie down, lie down," said Dr. Granger offhandedly. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Open wide," he instructed a minute later. Ron did so, but his eyes widened as well as he saw what curious instruments Hermione's father were holding in his hands. A miniscule mirror on a stick prodded his teeth and gums, and a little tube was placed under his tongue and gave his mouth a strange, dry sensation. Dr. Granger made humming noises as he inspected Ron's teeth, which unsettled him slightly. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your teeth," said Dr. Granger, and Ron brightened, but then he said, "but I think your molars need a little cleaning, they've gone all yellow back there."

_My what?_

"Now let's see, where's my brush?" Dr. Granger fumbled around for a bit, and a little stick with a circular brush on the end appeared in his hand. He turned it on, and it made an ominous buzzing noise. Ron shrank back into his seat; the machine, though small, looked extremely evil. "This won't hurt if you sit still," Hermione's father admonished. Ron nodded, and watched as the buzzing brush descended into his mouth.

He shut his eyes in shock as the tooth at the back of his mouth began to vibrate a little from the force of the toothbrush. After a few seconds, he got used to the feeling, and he opened his eyes again in interest. It was altogether a rather comfortable sensation. Hermione had spent a while talking on the phone extremely loudly in front of him prior to his visit, reminding her parents of the many times they had caused pain to their patients ("Remember when that boy bit your finger? I can still remember how he _screamed _when you pulled his tooth out!"). Ron had pretended he hadn't heard, but the memory sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine.

In ten minutes, the back of his mouth was covered in pink toothpaste, which tasted a little sweet in an artificial kind of way. Dr. Granger instructed Ron to sit up and rinse his mouth at a sink which had appeared next to him, complete with a full cup of water. "Nice and clean," said Dr. Granger with a cheeky grin, as Ron finished and turned to face him. "Hermione's waiting for you downstairs."

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks again to Oriondruid for this idea!**


End file.
